Georgia State Police sent welfare checks and announced discovery evidence A gang broke into the deceased's home, which had been rotting in a bathtub for months, and stole his property.
Cobb County police said they were called to a home in the Atlanta suburb of Smyrna in early October by people concerned that Robert Westbrook, 71, was missing.
“It's unfortunate, it's sad. It's just sad. Taking advantage of a dead person is just sick.”
When they entered the man's home, they found the man's body in the bathtub.
“He was in a state of severe decomposition. It's called mummification,” Detective Daniel Godu said.
They believe Westbrook's body had been decomposing for about three months.
Meanwhile, a group of robbers had broken into his home to ransack his belongings and steal whatever they could, police said.
“Drawers were knocked over. His master bedroom was in complete disarray,” Godou continued. “But then there were items consistent with someone still living there. The trash seemed to be taken out regularly. It looked like the bins had fairly new stuff in them.”
The next day, a neighbor called police to report someone in the man's driveway. Police were called and found four people loading Westbrook's property into a car.
Westbrook's car was also missing, and police tracked him to a gas station, where they found three other robbery suspects.
Police said the money was stolen by using credit cards and forging checks. The suspects are facing numerous charges including robbery and fraud.
“It gives them a moral compass, so to speak,” Godu said. “So they broke into someone's house. They saw him on the ground and instead of saying, 'Hey, we screwed up.' Call 911. I found this man dead. They decided to just live there. ”
Westbrook is believed to have died of natural causes. When police tried to contact the family, they found all of them dead.
one of the neighbors said According to WSBT-TV, she did not know Westbrook had died.
“It's unfortunate, it's sad. It's just sad,” Sonya da Silva said. “Taking advantage of a dead person is just sick.”
A view of the home can be seen below WSB-TV news video On YouTube.
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